A Magical Mission
by cycylyn
Summary: NarutoXPotter CO Naruto, Sakura, Neji, TenTen, Shikamaru and Kakashi are send on a mission in order to protect Harry Potter and his friends in his 3. year. What will happen? How will the shinobis deal with this world that is so different from theirs?
1. Chapter 1

**A Magical Mission **

_I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. I don't own any of the characters._

_Have fun reading my fanfiction! _

* * *

It was a cold, rainy night. Raindrops fell on the streets and the roofs of the houses. The windows in these were dark, resembling eyes, closed and sleeping as well as the rest of the world. All windows, except one. Behind this one the light of a desk lamp illuminated the tired face of a boy, staring outside in the dark night and listening to the whisper of the rain. 

His face was a mask of worries, his green eyes looked tired and his raven black hair was messy, as if it was rarely combed. He let out a sigh and slowly got up from the chair he had been sitting on.

He looked at his bed, covered with books, pieces of parchments, quilts and socks. He brushed them of his bed and they landed on the floor, enabling anyone to take a step without stepping on something. But at least, there was enough space on the bed to sleep and this was all the boy wanted at this moment. He lay down on his bed, fully dressed and with a last, worried glance outside the window he turned of the lights.

* * *

Neji let out a sigh. According to the alarm clock right next to him, it was 4:23. Normal people were sleeping at this time, trying to get a rest from the exhausting missions and training during the day or simply trying to get enough sleep so that they wouldn't fall asleep when fighting against an enemy. But then again, the people in his team were definitely not normal. 

"Neji, wake up and enjoy the springtime of youth!" someone cried and then he was temporary blinded by the sparkle of youth. Neji got up, leaving his warm and comfortable futon behind to deal with, well, an idiot.

"Neji" his team mate screamed again, louder than before. The Hyuuga looked at him, definitely not in the mood to deal with Lee at 4:23 in the morning.

"What?" he snapped and looked at Lee coldly.

"Hokage-sama wants to see you. At half past four!" Neji frowned. He had just gotten to bed about three hours ago, training to improve his Byakugan. He had hoped that Lee had just come into his room to rant about the springtime of youth or to train with him but this meant that there was a mission. He nodded, glancing at the alarm clock and wondered how he could get ready in four and a half minutes.

"Well, thanks Lee" The other boy nodded, jumped out of the window (after yelling something about youth which Neji ignored)and Neji broke his old record in showering and getting dressed, hastily eating a rice ball as he ran through the empty Streets of Konoha.

At 4:31 he was standing outside the Hokages Office, panting slightly. He knocked and opened the door as someone screamed "Enter". He was surprised seeing some of the other young shinobis, who were not in his team, standing in front of Tsunades Desk. He walked inside the room, bowed, and looked at Tsunade

"Seems like everyone is here" She said, then pulled out a letter and looked at them "We have received a mission. Normally, I would not accept it but the client is paying a very high amount of money and Konoha still owns him a favor so I'm afraid that we can not refuse his request. We have been asked to bodyguard a boy named Harry Potter and also keep an eye on his friends as they are in danger as well. He is currently enrolling at a school named Hogwarts, were magic is being thought"

she looked up and the murmurs and whispers that had arisen silenced "You will be pretending to be exchange Students, in order to strengthen the bonds between our two countries. Now, under no circumstances will you ever give away your true identity. I repeat, you must never reveal your true identity or the name of you village.

"You will receive information on the ones you have to protect, their customs and some general information and your fake identity. Don't worry" she added as a few shinobi in the room suddenly looked uncomfortable "It is your decision what you tell the people and you may use your real names. However, please make sure to learn the terms in here so that you will know what to answer if you are asked where you're from."She looked at them and Shizune handed every one of them a scroll. Surprisingly no one had talked during Tsunades speech, not even Naruto even though Neji had heard a few mutters of "Mendokse".

He looked at the other people in the room. Naruto and Sakura, behind them Kakashi, fiddling around with his book but (again, surprisingly) didn't read it, Shikamaru, TenTen and himself were standing in front of Tsunade's desk. "Read them and pack everything you will need for this mission. Your books, uniforms and everything else is going to be provided by our client but bring anything else you might need. Meet here again in three hours. If you have any questions, ask them later" She looked at them, especially at Kakashi "We have a very tight schedule so you better not be late. Now, get ready. Dismissed!"

Neji was waiting in front of the Hokages room, leaned against a wall, his eyes closed. He had managed to get an hour of sleep after packing everything for his mission (it wasn't much) quickly reading through the scroll and informing the head family of his mission. Now he was trying to rest a little bit, tired. If someone had told him about this, he would never hade been training outside until one in the morning. He let out a sigh. Too late for regrets, he just had to deal with it. He looked up when he heard footsteps, seeing TenTen and Shikamaru.

"Hey!" TenTen waved and Shikamaru nodded. Neji smiled slightly at TenTen and nodded to Shikamaru, their usual greeting.

"You're okay?" TenTen asked, sounding concerned "You look really tired"

Neji nodded "Yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't have much sleep this night."

"It's almost time, isn't it?" Shikamaru asked, glancing at the watch over Neji's head

"Yeah…" They were waiting silently until they heard voices, obviously fighting "Oh, shut up Naruto!"

"But, Sakura-chan, I-"

"You were supposed to read those, baka! Now, listen! Don't talk or say anything until you've read those and just DON'T say anything about shinobis, Konoha or the Hokage, got that?"

"Hai, Sakura-chan!" After this, none of them said a word until they reached the others

"Ohayo!" Sakura smiled and in fact it was only 7:29.

"Ohayo, Sakura-san!" TenTen smiled while Shikamaru just nodded and Neji was too tired to reply.

"Neji-san, are you okay?" Sakura asked and the Hyuuga murmured "yeah, just so tired" a smile spread over Sakura's face as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a little box filled with mud colored pills.

"Here" she gave one to Neji who couldn't help but to look at it al little bit suspicious. "Don't worry, these are energy pills. They are used during long missions and fights when the shinobi has no time to rest or sleep. Different from food pills, they only make up for the lost sleep and don't provide any extra power but they aren't as dangerous as food pills as well. In fact, the only danger is getting hyper on these, but" she grimaced "that's very unlikely to happen."

Neji looked at the little pill in his hand then swallowed it, immediately feeling much better and much more awake.

"Arigato, Sakura-san" he said, bowing his head slightly. Suddenly, the door to the Hokages room opened and Shizune looked at them

"Come in" she said, then frowned "I suppose Kakashi isn't her yet, is he?"

Neji shook his head "No"

Shizune sighted "Well, come in anyway"

They entered, Tsunade watching them behind her desk "I see that Kakashi is late, as usual" she stated "Well, we don't-" she was interrupted by a 'pop' and a cloud of fumes.

"Yo" Kakashi said, raising his hand and fiddling around with his book with the other one.

"Kakashi, you are late" Tsunade said coldly looking at him

"Ah, Sorry... I had to... visit to someone before I left" he said. To everyone's surprise, Tsunade simply nodded "Try making it earlier the next time".

She help up a little, golden ball "This" she explained "is a port key. You will be leaving in five minutes using it. As I said before, you are going to enroll as students at this school. Here" she pointed towards five very big trunks "is everything you will need this year, they are labled so everyone will get theirs before you leave. Kakashi is going to come with you. He will be the team leader; however, if he is absent which will probably be the case very often, Neji is going to be the leader. Any questions?"

Sakura nodded "What will Kakashi-sensei do, Tsunade-sama?" she asked

"He is mainly going to do information gathering, thus he will not be around very often. Of course, he will help you if there is going to be a fight" she added "Good. Do not reveal your mission to anyone, not even the ones you are going to guard when not absolutely necessary. Necessary meaning either one of your lifes or the mission being in danger." She made a pause "Do not reveal your identity or mission to anyone except those three and our client. Even if your lifes are in danger" she said, and then she looked at the small, golden ball "This ball has a charm on it so that you will be able to understand their language as soon as you touch it. Get your trunk and come here. Touch the ball!" she ordered and all of them hurried to get their trunk and crowded around the little ball, holding on to it.

Suddenly, something pulled them up right behing their navel. They were flying through the air, Naruto screaming in excitement.

"Let go!" Kakashi ordered and they did, landing on the floor, looking around. They were standing in a small, but bright room, almost empty except for a few cushions, chairs and a small table.

"Byakugan" Neji whispered but couldn't sense anyone nearby. Suddenly, with a loud 'pop' a man disappeared in the middle of the room. Instantly, all of the shinobis got ready to fight. TenTen grabbed two kunai, several shuriken and other weapons; Neji got into his fighting stance, Shikamaru was analyzing his surrounding and the shadows, Naruto stared at the stranger and Kakashi was reading his book.

The shinobis looked at the man who had just appeared. His hair and beard were very long and silver, he was wearing weird, long clothes which were definitely not suited to fight. He didn't seem to notice the tension in the room but smiled as he saw them "Oh, I see that you have already arrived. Wonderful!"

Kakashi put his book away, then he asked "Who are you?"

The stranger smiled "I'm Albus Dumbledore; I suppose you know who I am" the others nodded, except Naruto but Sakura silenced him with an icy glance. "I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you" she said smiling and bowed

"Hatake Kakashi"

"Uzumaki Naruto" surprisingly silent thanks to Sakuras cold, warning stares

"I'm TenTen"

"Nara Shikamaru"

"Hyuuga Neji"

Dumbledore smiled friendly at them, and then he said "I will tell you where you have to go in a minute. But please take of your forehead protectors; they will give your identity away fairly easy for anyone with any knowledge about shinobis. You are going to change into your school uniform on the train."

He smiled them, then pulled out five sticks "Oh, and I forgot to give you your wands. I'm sorry but we don't have time to go to Olivander's but I think these wands will fit you very good. Here" each of them took a wand, looking at it curiously. Naruto opened his mouth to ask a question but Sakura slapped his head and whispered angrily "I told you to shut up until you've read the scroll, baka!"

Dumbledore chuckled, then he looked at his wristwatch. "Ah, it's almost time to go. I will see you in Hogwarts. If you leave this building, you will see the train station Kings Cross. To get to the platform nine and three-quarters you have to run through the wall between platform nine and ten" he explained briefly, looking at Kakashi "I presume that you've received more detailed information on this already?"

The silver haired shinobi nodded while Sakura took of her fore head protector, looking at the others "Let's get over with it" she didn't look happy about taking it of, the proof that she was a ninja of Konoha. TenTen nodded and removed hers. Shikamaru muttered something that highly resembled "Mendokse" but took it of without any further complains.

Naruto complained loudly but Sakura simply ripped it of his head silencing him with an intent-to-kill glare. She glanced briefly at Neji, expecting to see his forehead protector removed. After all, he wasn't the kind of person who would complain about such rather unimportant things.

However, Neji hadn't removed it yet and his expression was a mix of embarrassment and nervousness. Dumbledore seemed to grow rather impatient. "Is there a problem?" he asked friendly, but couldn't hide the slight frown on his face.

Before the Hyuuga could response, Kakashi said "Would it bee possible for Neji-kun to wear a hat or something similar in order to hide his forehead or would that go against the schools dress code?"

Dumbledore looked slightly bemused but nodded "I suppose. He wouldn't be allowed to wear a hat but I think there would be no problem with a headband" He flicked his wand and a plain, black headband appeared.

"Will this do?" he asked the chocolate haired boy. Neji nodded, bowed slightly and mumbled "Arigato" before turning around and changing his headbands. Dumbledore look a bit confused while most people in the room (except Naruto of course) seemed to understand.

* * *

_This was my first attempt to write something in English (except homework) so I probably made some mistakes. If you find any grammar mistakes or something please tell me )_


	2. Chapter 2

**A Magical Mission **

_I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. I don't own any of the characters._

**_I'm so, so, so sorry hat I didn't upload this earlier! _**_I didn't have much time to write and I don't want to post super-short chapters. But chapter 2 is finally out! I hope you like it. Thanks a lot for all reviews I got and please send me one if you have any critic or like it. I want to improve and I want to know what is good and what is bad! Also, I'm always afraid that my story sounds stupid and that my writing-style is bad. So please, please tell me! And again, my English is so not perfect so please tell me if I did any grammar mistakes, used a wrong word etc._

_ Well, have fun reading, Cy!  
_

* * *

"Run through the WALL? Are you crazy?" 

"Shut up, baka!"

"How troublesome"

"Neji, can you check?"

"Hai… Byakugan!"

"…"

"Well, this wall appears to be an illusion."

"Thanks, Neji"

"But… but we can't run through a wall!"

"It's an illusion, baka. Meaning we can, ne Kakashi-sensei?"

"Uh, yes. At least, that's what Dumbledore-san told us to do"

"Let's go… This is getting troublesome."

"But…"

"NARUTO!"

"H-Hai Sakura-chan"

"…"

Neji was the first to run through the wall, followed by Sakura, TenTen, Shikamaru, Naruto and Kakashi, making sure that everyone managed to go through the wall.

"Well… You guys get on the train" Kakashi said, pulling out his book

"Ne, ne what about you, Kakashi-sensei?" the blonde asked, his loud voice causing people around him to stare at the small group of shinobis

"Naruto, don't be so loud" Sakura hissed. A smile appeared on their Sensei's face slightly visible despite the mask. Some things never change…

"Well, I presume that you guys won't need help on the train so I'll be of gathering information. I'll meet you in Hogwarts. See you!" he said, ruffling Naruto's hair before disappearing in a cloud of white fumes "Mendokse" Shikamaru muttered and TenTen suggested "Let's get on the train and find a compartment!"

They made their way through the noisy crowd, mothers were kissing they're children goodbye, friends chatting about their holidays and the young shinobis heard the name "Sirius Black" quite often, whispered, with voices full of fear and a shadow seemed to glide over the happy faces of the parents and older students only to force a smile back on their faces when the younger ones looked at them confused and worried. The shadows in their eyes, however, stayed, fear of the one whose name they whispered and fear of even worse things to come, fear that the peace would end and the dark time they had grown up in would start again.

"Ne, Sakura-chan… Who is this Sirius Black?" Naruto asked and Sakura turned around frowning at him

"That's what you get from not reading the scroll" she murmured, obviously not willing to give an explanation but TenTen said "

He is a wanted criminal and we are supposed to protect Harry Potter from him" while Neji was glancing at the blonde boy with an annoyed but somehow worried look

"You better read the scroll before we arrive or there are going to be some big problems" he told him

"Neji's right. If you don't, this is going to get troublesome".

Sakura looked around, but most of the compartments were already full. Finally they found one with only there people around their age and a man, sleeping. Sakura opened the door

"Excuse us, but may we come in? There is no room in the other compartments" she said, smiling sweetly.

The three looked up and the girl with bushy, brown hair nodded and smiled "Sure" The five of them entered while the three wizards tried their best not to stare at them, especially Neji who didn't need any assistance even though he seem to be blind.

"I'm Haruno Sakura" the pink haired girl said elbowing Shikamaru next to her who was already staring outside of the window, looking at the clouds

"Huh? Oh, Nara Shikamaru"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm…" he interrupted himself after noticing Sakuras death glare and remembering her words not to say anything about the Hokage.

"I'm TenTen, hi!"

"Hyuuga Neji"

"Nice to meet you!" the brown haired girl smiled

"I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ron Weasley and this" she made a little, dramatic pause "is Harry Potter"

The shinobi stared at the boy. Hermione looked slightly confused as their reaction wasn't quite what she expected. Normally, people were fussing around, staring at Harry's scar as long as possible without being to impolite. However, the shinobis were staring at the dark haired boy in front of them in disbelief, wondering why they didn't start to protect him earlier. He didn't look like he could fight at all, let alone a wanted criminal.

"Uh… what's wrong?" Harry asked. He was used to people staring at him but their stares were different, making him fell more uncomfortable then usual.

The girl, Haruno, blushed "Oh, nothing. I'm sorry"

"You guys got pretty weird first names" the red haired boy said, causing the girl to shot an annoyed glance at him. Boys! Sakura looked confused for a moment, then she remembered a little note in the scroll.

"Oh, no, they're not our first names. We say our family name first and then our real name" she smiled "So I'm Sakura and he" she pointed at Naruto "is Naruto and not Uzumaki"

The blonde was staring at the sleeping man "Who is that?" he asked, curious.

"That's our new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin" Hermione said "He's probably just tired so we've decided to let him sleep"

They continued to talk as the landscape outside the windows changed, becoming wilder. The shinobis were trying their best not to give anything away about Konoha. Not all of the shinobis, however. While Sakura, Naruto and TenTen were listening to Harry's and Ron's complains about Snape, Shikamaru was looking outside the window, staring at the clouds while Neji was looking out of the window as well but it seemed a if he was looking at something distance, far away while fiddling with his headband.

Suddenly, the train stopped and the lights went of. The shinobi jumped to their feet, a kunai in each hand.

"TenTen, Naruto- stay at the door. Shikamaru, Sakura, protect the three!" Neji said calmly in Japanese, then forming seals he whispered "Byakugan! Some weird… creatures are entering the train. Not humans, be careful!" he said while the three wizards were staring at the shinobis, not able to understand what they were saying and they could hardly see what was happening because their eyes were not used to darkness.

A voice made them jump "Calm down" and suddenly Professor Lupin was standing, his hand burning, the flames illuminating the compartment and his tired face. His eyes, however, were sharp and wary.

He looked at the shinobis "Get back" he ordered "You can't fight them like this" The door slid open and Lupin's burning hand dimly lit a tall, hooded creature.

It seemed to look around and then it breathed in. It got cold. So cold, that their breath turned into little, white clouds but there was a feeling far worse than the cold, a cold that was everywhere. Pictures filled their minds, painful memories.

Neji gasped. The pictures washed over him, leaving him unable to breathe, his heart hurting so much, the pain getting unbearable. "Father" he whispered, unable to ignore the memories and his surrounding got blurry. This feeling of loneliness again. Pain. Kneeling next to his father's body, screaming his name, crying, the seal on his forehead still hurting. Why? Don't leave me…. Please! Pain, so strong that he fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Don't faint! He told himself but the pictures were stronger, the pain, far worse than any other pain, and he began to loose himself in the darkness and memories…

"Neji!" someone slapped him "Neji! Wake up!" He opened his eyes, seeing TenTen who was looking at him worried

"You're alright?" she asked, helping him up. He nodded, shakily.

"Y-yeah. Kind of" he murmured, looking around. One of the wizards, Harry, was lying on the floor, slowly getting up while Sakura and Shikamaru were trying to wake up Naruto.

"Is he alright?" he asked, looking at the blond boy.

His face was a mask of pain and fear and he whispered his voice full of fear and sadness "Why… I didn't do anything… Why me… Please".

The girl nodded "Yes, I think he'll wake up soon" she smiled at him "are you okay?" she asked and he nodded, even though he still didn't fell okay.

Lupin looked at him, then he gave him a piece of chocolate and smiled at him "Eat. You'll feel better afterwards"

Neji couldn't help but stare at him as he walked over to the others, giving them chocolate as well. "Wh-What was that?" Harry asked "A Dementor" Lupin answered, giving no further explanation as he opened the door and walked outside.

Hermione looked at Neji and Naruto, who had finally woken up, his face pale and Neji could see the pain the boy must have experienced in his eyes.

"Are you guys alright?" she asked and the two nodded.

"What happened?" Harry asked looking around with the chocolate in his hands.

"Well, this- the Dementor was standing there and as he started to breath in, you guys… collapsed" Ron explained, still shocked.

TenTen looked at Neji and Naruto "You two started shaking and… and then you screamed, Neji. You looked like you were in pain but you didn't response when we talked to you, you were just lying there… " She broke of, shivering. "And I felt weird like I was never going to be happy again"

The others in the room nodded and then Harry suddenly asked "Who screamed?"

"N-no one screamed" the red haired boy said and Hermione's voice sounded very concerned as she asked "Harry, are you sure that you're okay?"

The shinobis looked at each other "Gen-jutsu?" TenTen suggested, looking at Neji and Naruto "What happened? What did you see?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head, unwilling to speak, still looking shakily. Neji didn't want to talk either but he forced himself to speak "Memories" he said, his voice breaking. The pain was still there as if his wounds were torn open again, after they had finally healed somehow.

"Yeah" Naruto said "Painful, sad memories"

"It could be a gen-jutsu" Sakura pointed out, then a frown appeared on her face "These memories- they were yours, weren't they?" she asked and her frown deepened as they nodded "Is that even possible?"

Neji shook his head tired "I don't know. But they couldn't have used a gen-jutsu" he paused and the others stared at him but before they could say anything he said "Listen, I know this sound weird but I couldn't sense any chakra in these… these creatures. Their chakra system…" He shuddered "It was like the one of a dead body"

Harry was still feeling dizzy and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. The five foreign students were discussing quietly in a different language. What had happened? Why didn't Ron and Hermione collapse? He looked at the two others boys, wondering why they did. The blonde boy was very quiet compared to before when he had been shouting and grinning all the time.

The other boy, Neji, didn't talk much before but the calm, emotionless mask he had put on was broken and Harry could see that he, as well, was shaking. However, he managed to control himself better then the other boy and soon his face was emotionless again. The door opened and Lupin appeared. He smiled slightly as he saw that no one had eaten their chocolate "I didn't poison it… You'll feel better after eating it"

Neji stepped outside, breathing in the fresh, cold air around him and finally calming down. He hadn't eaten the chocolate because he didn't like sweets but had given it to Naruto. The blonde had looked much better after eating it; still Neji didn't regret giving it to him. Sweet things were just… disgusting. Shikamaru was next to him, trying to calm down a slightly hyper Naruto who had not only eaten Nejis but Shikamarus chocolate as well. Note to brain: Never give Naruto sugar. Ever.

They followed the three wizards who were telling TenTen and Sakura exited about something that sounded like Quiditch. Shikamaru had the (troublesome) job to stop Naruto from whatever he wanted to do while Neji was lost in his own thoughts walking silently next to the others.

He was the first one to spot the creatures in front of the carriages. They looked similar to horses, but there was no flesh underneath their black skin. He couldn't help but stop and stare at them in disbelieve. Such things exist?

"Neji, what's-oh my god" Soon all of the shinobi stared at the strange animals in front of them causing the wizards to look at them confused

"Uh, what's wrong?" Ron asked looking at the spot the shinobis were staring and saw- nothing. Absolutely nothing. As usual, the carriages were horse-less. The new students seemed to see something, however, as they were still staring at the blank space causing the wizards to question their sanity.

"Uhm, guys…?" Hermione asked carefully "What's wrong?"

"What are these things?" TenTen asked in awe "They're so pretty!"while Naruto, who was still hyper, was bouncing around screaming "They're sooo cool! Why can't we- au! What was THAT for, Sakura-chan?"

"Oh, just shut up, baka!"

"This is so troublesome… "

Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn't help but to stare at the shinobi , wondering how they always managed to end up with the freaks.

Neji turned around "So I presume you can't see them, can you?" he asked earning more confused glares

"See WHAT?" Ron demanded impatient "You guys have been acting all weird but there is nothing there!"

"You mean, you really can't see them?" Sakura asked confused. They were so obvious, standing in front of the carriages. How could anyone _not_ see them?

"No, what are we supposed to see?" Ron cried frustrated.

Neji formed a seal and whispered "Byakugan", looking at the horses. They were real. Quickly, before anyone could notice the veins around his eyes, he turned them back to normal with a slightly confused look in his pale eyes.

"Uh, we should get on…" Harry suggested and all of them, realizing in shock that the last carriage (which was the one they had been staring at) was about to leave, hurried into it.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**A Magical Mission **

_Yay! Finally, chapter three is out! God, I stayed up LATE to finish this and just managed to edit it. The end is kind of rushed, I'm sorry, but I wanted to get it up...Well, anywhere. It's here you are and I hope you'll like it!_

_Please send me a review, they make me so happy! )__ Thanks to anyone who did, they really made me get this done faster!_

_And I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto!_

* * *

Neji closed his eyes, his head leaning against the window of the carriage. The effect of the energy pills was slowly wearing off and his body was feeling heavy with tiredness. 

He grimaced slightly as another flash of pain shot through his head, trying not to wince in pain. Unfortunately, Sakura, being a trainee med-nin, noticed quite easily that he wasn't in a good condition.

"Neji, what's wrong?" she asked, causing six heads to turn in his direction and him to feel quite uncomfortable.He shrugged.

"Nothing. I'm just tired" he lied, not wanting to make everyone worried. However, Sakura wasn't fooled that easily and another pain shooting through his head making him wince slightly didn't help much, either.

"I'm not blind!" she said, sounding slightly angry, and then added in Japanese "And you won't be of much use during a fight the way you are now"

Neji let out a sigh, unable to argue over that logic "As I said, I'm tired and I've got a little headache. Nothing to worry about, Sakura-san"

Sakura, however, was worried about it and handed him another energy pill "You really should get some sleep tonight and don't spend it outside training" she said "And about your headache…?" she trailed of but there was no need to say anymore and Neji shook his head

"No. I have a headache quite often." he grimaced slightly. Sakura nodded, handing him a small box with small, red pills.

"Pain killers" she explained. He smiled one of his rare smiles and swallowed one of the pills. After a few seconds, the pain disappeared and he sighted in relief, feeling much better.

"Thank you, Sakura-san"

They were silent for a moment, but Naruto started asking questions only a few seconds later and soon half of the shinobis were chatting lively with the wizards while the others were silently staring outside the window. The carriage stopped and they walked outside and Naruto had just started to wonder if there would be ramen when a cold voice made them stop

"You fainted, Potter? You really did?" they turned around and saw a pale, blonde boy looking at them. The atmosphere tensed and both Harry and Ron seemed to get ready for a fight. A very bad, amateurish fight.

"Get lost, Malfoy" Ron hissed

"So you did, didn't you?" the blonde said completely ignoring Ron. "I can't believe that you are so weak. Fainting because a single Dementor" Harry grabbed his wand but before he could decide what spell he should use on Malfoy a loud voice screamed

"Who are you calling weak, you bastard?" and Naruto darted forward his hands already forming seals. Every one of the shinobis stared at the blonde, knowing fully well that Naruto was close to reveal their identity. Very close. Suddenly, Naruto froze, his mouth open, ready to shout the name of the technique he intended to use.

Two hands had grabbed his wrists, holding him back and Shikamaru sighted in relief as he saw that his technique had worked. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Malfoy stared, their eyes wide in surprise and disbelieve. A shadow stretched from the black haired, lazy Shinobi to the blonde who seemed to be unable to move even the slightest bit and behind him, holding his wrists, was Neji.

He had moved at an incredible speed, so fast that the wizards didn't even see him move. The shadow shrunk and Naruto was able to move again. Theoretically. However, Neji still didn't let go of his wrists which turned out to be a wise decision. Everyone of the shinobi knew that Naruto's fighting strategy was A_ttack when something bothers you. Loudly. Think later._Or, to put it simple, he didn't have any.

And Naruto, being angry about being called week and still hyper because of the chocolate, tried to attack Malfoy as soon after Shikamaru released his technique without even hesitating and thinking why his friends had stopped him. Shikamaru looked like he wanted to hit his head against something hard. Something very hard. Repeatedly

"Let. Go. Of. Me!" the blonde shouted trying to free himself from Neji's grip.

The brown haired boy, however, made no attempt to let him go but hissed silently in their own language "Stop it, moron. If we'd let you continue, you'd give away our identity which would not just mean failing this mission but also revealing the secret of shinobi to this world, idiot!"

To Naruto this didn't look like an important enough reason to not fight against Malfoy (read: kick his ass) who had just insulted him, calling him "weak" and responded with an angry, annoyed and slightly confused "So, what?" Shikamaru stared at the wall next to him desperately wondering if it was hard enough to serve the bang-head-against-something-very-hard purpose. He doubted it. _Nothing_ seemed really hard enough if he was paired up with Naruto.

Neji seemed to consider the same thing but then decided that there were more important things to do. Stopping a certain idiot from ruining everything, for example. "Naruto, do you have even the slightest idea of the trouble we'll be in if anyone, except the three, finds out? This may not be an S-ranked mission but the information we are trying not to give away" he gave the blonde an icy look "_is_. It is vital for Konoha that only a few people in this world know about us."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest but Neji didn't let him say anything "And if we fail this mission or if we, or just _one_ of us, fails to keep this information secret we _all_ will be punished."

"So you're saying that I should just let him insult me without doing anything?" the blonde complained loudly.

Neji smirked "I'm saying that you shouldn't let anyone see it" he let go of the blonde's hands with the smirk still on his face but suddenly his expression turned serious "Anyway, people are staring at us, come on" he turned around and walked towards his friends and the wizards who were staring at him in awe.

Naruto shot Malfoy a last, angry glare before he as well turned around and followed Neji.

"That was amazing!" Ron exclaimed "How did you do that?"

"Stopping this idiot? Actually, I have no idea" he smirked at Naruto who was about to say something (loudly) but Sakura clasped a hand in front of his mouth and whispered "Shut up, baka! Do you want to explain to them why Neji is that fast?"

They walked through the gates silently, the three wizards still staring at Neji and Shikamaru wide-eyed while the shinobis were trying their best to ignore them. Suddenly a voice made them stop

"Potter, Granger come with me. I have to talk with you!" A stern, old with looked at them over the crowd and the wizards hurried over with a slightly worried expression on their faces. The shinobis followed them. "No reason to look so worried" the witch said slightly amused when noticing their expressions. "I just want to talk to you. It's okay, Weasley you can go" she looked at the five ninja for a moment, then she nodded more to herself than to someone else "I guess it would be better if you'd come along as well" she turned around, heading with a quick pace towards the stairs.

Ron looked confused and worried at them but Harry shrugged "Just go and don't worry" he grinned, even though still nervous and they hurried after Professor McGonagall.

As soon as they reached her office, Professor McGonagall gestured Harry and Hermione to sit down, the shinobis remained standing because there weren't enough chairs. "I heard you fainted, Potter, Uzumaki and Hyuuga" All three of them nodded hesitantly, the shinobis ashamed of their weakness while Harry just seemed to be a bit annoyed about it. "Well, probably a night at the hospital…?" she trailed of looking at them questioning.

They shook their heads, muttering things like "I'm fine, really". While Harry seemed uncomfortable at spending a night in the hospital, Naruto and Neji felt highly insulted. Neji managed to hide this fairly well while Naruto protested loudly

"No way! I'm NOT going to spend a night in a hospital just because-itaaai! That was so mean, Sakura-chaaan!" he wailed, rubbing the back of his head were Sakura had hit him rather hard. "Oh, just shut UP, baka" she hissed annoyed, wondering just _how_ often she would have to say this sentence (accompanied with the satisfying _Thump _when something hard, preferably her fist, hit Naruto's forehead) in the next few days.

The teacher raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything about this act of violence; instead she asked Harry and the shinobis to leave the room ("I have to discuss a private matter with Ms. Granger").

They were waiting outside the office. Naruto continued whining about how mean Sakura was after getting another slap at the back of his head (and, of course after an extremely loud "OH, JUST SHUT UP, BAKA!" that made all of the shinobis plus Harry go deaf for some time).

Finally, the door opened and Hermione stept outside with a happy and satisfied smile on her face, followed by Professor McGonagall. "Potter, Granger would you just wait for another minute? I have to talk to our new students." She looked at the shinobis who nodded and followed her inside the office, standing in front of her desk.

"Normally, new students will be sorted into houses. There are four- Gryffindor, Rawenclaw, Huffelpuff and Slytherin. However, as you are here to protect Harry Potter you will all be placed into Gryffindor" she explained, then continued to talk about the point-system, the common rooms and so on "As you will be Hogwarts students, I expect you to follow the school-rules and do what you are asked by teachers as long if it doesn't interfere with your mission. Is that understood?" She looked at them sternly and all of them nodded, their expressions (even Naruto's) were serious.

After all, they were shinobis of Konoha and were grown up enough to know how to behave during a mission report, which also sometimes included getting further information or orders from the client. Even Naruto had learned to be serious at the important times but, much to Sakuras annoyance, he didn't manage to stay like that even for _one minute _after a mission report finished.

* * *

Kakashi sat in a tree, staring at the stormy sky, feeling the raindrops on his skin and sighted. He should head back to meet his team, but then again… They were used to him being late and he wanted to be alone a little longer, the faces of his loved ones in front of his eyes, so clear, so _real_ that he could almost reach out for them and touch them. Almost. He shook his head but the images didn't disappear and for some reason, Kakashi was glad they didn't.

"What's wrong, Kashi-kun?" Rin asked, smiling at him

"Nothing…" the shinobi replied "you are not angry, that I left, are you?"

His Sensei grinned "Of course not, Kakashi! It doesn't matter where you remember us- in front of the memorial stone or here, as long as you do" while Obito laughed, one of his happy, carefree laughter's that Kakashi still missed

"Better make up for it when you're back!" the Uchiha said and Kakashi nodded, a smile hidden underneath his mask

"Sure" He knew, that it was weird, talking with his memories but it felt so good to hear their voices, even though they weren't real. He stood up; still smiling at them and said

"I'll be going then…" his voice trailed of and he disappeared with a puff and a cloud of fumes. It didn't matter, however. Wherever he went, they would follow.

* * *

They walked into the great hall just the moment Dumbledore stood up, his arms spread out, welcoming the students.

"Welcome to a new year in Hogwarts. I have a few important matters to address so I hope that you will give me, for a few minutes of your full attention. First of all, I'd like to welcome five exchange students from the Konoha School in Japan. They are part of an exchange program I am trying out in order to strengthen the bonds between our countries. Please treat them with respect and keep in mind that they are new to our customs and may be unfamiliar with many things. They have been sorted already and are going to stay in Gryffindor"

cheers erupted from one table, the same table were Harry and Hermione had hurried to.

"I would like all of you" Dumbledore continued with sparkling eyes "to give a random applause to TenTen, Sakura Haruno, Neji Hyuuga, Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki" now all of the tables erupted in cheers (even though some more energetic than others) while the shinobi flinched at the horrible pronunciation of their names and wrong order of first and surnames.

As they walked towards the Gryffindor table and sat next to Harry, Ron and Hermione the hall grew quiet once more and Dumbledore continued to speak. The shinobis listened interested as he talked about the Dementors guarding the school and the new teachers. Finally, with an energetic "Tuck in!" Dumbledore finished his speech and food appeared magically. The shinobis jumped but as the other students didn't even look surprised they calmed down fairly quick.

They had never seen food like this before and looked at it curiously before helping themselves to some. It didn't taste too bad and even Naruto stopped complaining about the lack of ramen thanks to Sakura… (_Thump_ … "SHUT UP, BAKA, AND EAT!!"). As the last bits of cake had vanished from their plates, Dumbledore announced that it was time to go to bed. All of the shinobi seemed relieved, especially Neji who was quite tired by now despite the energy pills.

Happily chatting with each other, the three wizards led the shinobis to the Gryffindor common room and after saying good night to each other the girls followed Hermione up to the girl's rooms while the boys followed Harry and Ron.

Neji looked at Sakura and TenTen which seemed like a random glance while the kunoichis understood its meaning _Don't let your guard down_ his pearl white eyes said. "Good night, guys" Sakura winked and grinned at them as another message passed from emerald to white eyes _Yeah, we know…_

* * *

_I just had to write something about Kakashi and his past… And about Neji's headache, well it is kind of logical that you have a headache pretty often if you have a seal on your fore head that can destroy your brain cells (in case you wonder how I came up with that idea)… Well, anyway PLEASE review XD_

_OMG I HATE PARAGRAPHS!_

_Anyway, see you til the next chapter, Cy...  
_

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

** A Magical Mission**

_Chapter 4 is finally up and I know it has taken ages. I'm really, really sorry bows I hope I will be able to upload them faster from now on. _

_Thanks so much for betaing, Sarah! hug_

_And I'm not following the book completly, so people will say different things etc. _

_I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto and you know it!_

_Have fun reading _

* * *

The sun rose, turning the water in the lake into liquid gold and for a few minutes the white clouds became golden, crimson red and orange. 

A boy with black hair was sitting alone at the deserted Gryffindor table. No one was up yet, even the teachers were still sleeping or getting ready but breakfast had already appeared magically on the table. The boy, however, did not seem to notice it. His eyes were directed towards a far more interesting sight: The clouds.

He continued to watch them, not aware of his surroundings. A small group of people were walking through the door, talking. Three of them looked at the lazy cloud-admirer in confusion while the others seemed pretty much used to the sight.

"What is he doing?" Hermione asked as they approached the Gryffindor table.

TenTen grinned "He's watching the clouds" she explained and her grin widened at the wizards puzzled expressions.

They had reached the Gryffindor table and Ron asked "Why doesn't he go outside, then?" as he sat down.

A lazy voice next to him answered, making him jump "Because it's so troublesome…" He stood up and yawned, grabbing a piece of toast and sighed "This is becoming so troublesome… I think I am going outside" but Naruto grabbed his arm "Stop being so anti-social!"

The black haired boy sighed but sat down, muttering "troublesome" and continued to stare at the ceiling. The shinobi, being completely used to the lazy genius behavior sat down as well and looked suspiciously at the food in front of them. Hermione giggled "Don't worry, you can eat that"

Breakfast passed quickly, the golden trio trying to find out something about the shinobis' 'school' and the said people busy avoiding giving anything away. When Professor McGonagall handed them their timetables, Harry was surprised to find out that the ninjas had the same time table as him and Ron.

He happily told them all about their past defense against dark arts teachers, voicing his hope that Lupin would be, if not a good teacher, a sane one at least. Meanwhile, Ron was bickering with Hermione, something about the girl's time table. It was only when Hagrid stopped at their table, telling them about having prepared something interesting for their first lesson (the wizards paled, the ninjas smiled inwardly, hoping for some challenge) that they noticed that they were almost late.

Which lead to a big problem, voiced by Naruto: "Where they heck are we?" After Hagrid had left, they had quickly grabbed their bags and rushed out of the hall, trying to get to Divination as soon as possible.

Key word: trying.

Now they were standing somewhere in the middle of nowhere (or better, somewhere in the middle of Hogwarts) and were completely lost. Yes, lost. Five ninjas and three wizards who were supposed to know the castle had managed to get lost.

Neji gowned in frustration. Shinobi didn't get lost. They just didn't. Not in a castle. And to make matters even worse: He was a Hyuuga. And Hyuugas just didn't get lost in a FREAKING CASTLE! Yet, he somehow managed to do exactly so.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were panting. Heavily. The Hyuuga shot them an irritated glance. For God's sake, they had run up the stairs for only about five minutes. Was it even possible to be so unfit? Apparently, yes. While Neji wondered why they didn't die of a heart attack yet (seriously, they were about as red as Hinata-sama when Naruto talked to her) the others were trying to find their classroom.

Neji, busy comparing Hinatas different red shades to the wizards ones failed to notice TenTens desperate attempt to gain his attention. Let's just say he didn't fail to notice the kunai.

"What?" he glared. He wasn't really bothered about the fact that the kunai almost killed him. You get used to that after being in a team with TenTen. Why wasn't he paranoid yet? However, his thoughts were interrupted by yet another kunai thrown in his direction.

"Neji" TenTen hissed. Oh. He had spaced out again.

"What?"

"Can't you use your Byakugan?" she whispered in Japanese.

He shook his head "I tried. Won't work here. There is a lot of unusual chakra in the walls, everything is blurry. Sorry" His teammate gowned in frustration. This was going to be a long day.

"This is so boring!" Naruto wailed. "Why do we- aah! That HURT!"

"Just SHUT up, baka!" hissed an extremely annoyed Sakura.

Neji agreed. With both of them. First, this was extremely pointless and boring. Second, Naruto was too loud. He looked up from his teacup and observed his teammates and his charges. Shikamaru had fallen asleep some time ago; Sakura and Hermione were partly trying to work, partly complaining about how ridiculous this was; TenTen was playing around with her cup, sometimes looking at her book but not really working. Naruto, Ron and Harry were fooling around, much quieter than before however after Sakura had demonstrated her amazing and scary strength once again.

TenTen looked up "Mine doesn't make any sense" she complained, then reached for Neji's cup "Let me see yours!" She seemed much more interested in the Hyuuga's wet tealeaves than in her own. "Hey, Sakura. I'm trying to unfog Neji's future. Want to help me?" Neji shot her an angry glare. She smirked and soon the three girls were discussing about his tealeaf-blobs.

"Hmm… So, I see a sun… And this looks like a cross or an X" Sakura muttered, looking at her book. Hermione nodded "Yeah, but it could also be a bird" she turned the cup. "And when you look at it like this…"

She was interrupted by a loud cry. The shinobi jumped to their feet but relaxed as they saw no real threat. Apparently the teacher had made a shocking discovery about Harry's tealeaves. "Oh my dear boy… I- no I can't. It's horrible."

She had the class full attention, her eyes wide and the hand which she held the teacup with trembled. "What is it, Professor?" someone asked, falling perfectly in the "trap" the teacher had set up to increase the dramatic

"The grim" she breathed.

The_what_? The reaction of the class, however, was surprising, to say the least. A few girls let out a small squeal of horror, hands clasped in front of their mouths, eyes wide and terrified. Boys shifted uncomfortable in their seats, some even moving away from Harry. Only a few people looked confused: The shinobi and Harry, to be precise. The green-eyed teenager started at the teacher bewildered "The what?"

"The Grim. The omen of death" she whispered. Neji couldn't help but roll his pale eyes. Omen of death? A kunai at your throat was an omen of death but not a weird, dog shaped blob in your teacup. The others seemed to think that same. Sakura had raised an eyebrow; TenTen looked like she was hardly trying not to laugh while Shikamaru was still sleeping, completely oblivious to everything that was going on around him.

And Naruto… well, the hyperactive blond had managed to stay seated (thanks to Sakura's death-glares) but didn't manage to keep his mouth shut "What do you mean, omen of death? We are going to die anyway, aren't we?"

Neji had to admit, that was a very good question. Trelawney, however, didn't think so. She shot Naruto a glare that was probably supposed to be a death-glare but was nothing to the I-will-kill-you-if-you-don't-shut-up-you-stupid-idiot-glare that was sent by Sakura. Naruto ignored both of them and continued to stare at Trelawney waiting for his question to be answered "The Grim, my dear boy, is the sign of a soon death, a death of young age." She whispered, her voice still shaking.

The shinobi couldn't help but fell slightly amused by the fear and shock that was evident in the eyes of every student. After all, in the ninja world it wasn't uncommon for people to die at their age. But of course, this society was different and death had a completely different meaning to them (explained in the scroll). As Naruto refused to read the scroll he had no idea whatsoever and opened his mouth to say something along the lines of "So what?", he finally noticed the look Sakura gave him, promising a slow and painful death if he didn't shut up.

"So what do we have next?" Ron asked, yawning.

"Care of Magical creatures!" Hermione answered, a happy smile on her lips "I hope he hasn't prepared something dangerous, though" she added as an afterthought, her smile turning into a frown.

"He wouldn't do that… would he?" Harry didn't sound to sure and as they made their way to their next lesson he looked more and more worried "I mean" he said quietly "He thinks that dragons and monster-spiders are good pets and-"

He was interrupted by a loud "Hey guys, wait for us!" coming from the hyperactive blonde that was bouncing next to his annoyed looking friends. Extremely annoyed-looking friends. And a certain pink-haired girl that looked like she was ready to kill him. In a slow, painful way.

"Naruto, shut up" Shikamaru, seeing the danger coming from he kunoichi decided hat he could at least try to save the blonds life. Wasted effort as said blond completely ignored him and continued to annoy everyone with his hyperactive voice, ranting on about "Why the HELL is there no ramen?"

Slowly, Sakura turned around, sending daggers at her teammate. "Naruto" she said in a dangerous, hardly controlled voice. He, completely oblivious to the fact that his life was in serious danger, interrupted his whining and turned around with a happy, fox like grin "Hai, Sakura-chan?"

"SHUT UP AND BE QUIET FOR ONE TIME IN YOUR LIFE!" she all but screamed, hitting him over the head and walking towards her new friends. Said wizards looked extremely scared as a still very pissed off Sakura approached them.

"So… what do we have next?" she asked with a sweet, innocent smile. From that day on, no one of the three would _ever_trust a sweet and innocent smile.

Care of magical creatures was with the Slytherins. The air was filled with tension and even though most of the threatening words and glares shot at each other were hardly to be taken serious, the shinobi tensed.

After the idiots in the class finally found out how to open the oh-so terrifying books (In the ninjas' case, once stabbed with a few kunai and shuriken, or in Neji's case- once Juukened they were hardly moving at all and were even nice enough to open at the right page), the teacher, a giant called Hagrid disappeared to get the magical creatures.

Neji was interested, eagerly waiting for Hagrid's return. He hoped they wouldn't be too boring because despite all the magic surrounding him (which was pretty interesting) he longed for being outside, training, sparring with TenTen or simply running through the forest. The few minutes he was able to be outside, near the castle weren't the same. He had to go into that forbidden forest at some point or he was going to become insane… Well, even more insane than he had become since Gai and Lee were on his team. His thoughts ("Is that even possible?") were interrupted when Hagrid reappeared.

Following him, there were creatures none of the shinobi had ever seen before (and judging by the wizards' reactions none of them have either). They were beautiful, wild and dangerous and yet they moved with a certain grace and it was obvious how proud they were by the way they carried themselves. Hippogriffs. Neji barely listened to what the teacher told him, his gaze fixed on those creatures. Suddenly, TenTen poked him and he noticed that he, Harry and the other shinobi were standing in front of all the other students. Had they moved closer or did the others stepped back? He didn't know. Had he been so mesmerized by the Hippogriffs that he didn't even notice such an obvious movement?

Again, TenTen poked him, telling him to pay attention to the teacher's words. As Harry took another step towards the Hippogriffs after the teacher's request, Neji quickly did the same. He didn't know how dangerous they were, despite their beauty and he would definitely not take any risks.

Some girls gasped and Neji heard something that sounded like "Don't! Remember, the Grim?" He rolled his eyes. Seriously, did they really trust tealeaves?

Hagrid looked at them for a while, almost uneasy, then he nodded to Neji "Alright, give it a try, boy" the Hyuuga nodded and walked towards the Hippogriff. He could feel the people's eyes on him but he decided to ignore them.

Carefully trying not to blink, he slowly approached the beautiful creature and bowed, not stiff and awkwardly as the others would do but almost elegantly with long practice. He readied himself to quickly disappear in case the Hippogriff decided to attack him, then he looked up. The Hippogriffs' cold, golden eyes met pale, white ones.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm so, so sorry. Please don't kill me. I know I didn't update for a very long time. Please forgive me (

I was stuck with the story, so I stopped writing and kept delaying it. Again, I'm so sorry!

And I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

* * *

Neji was nervous, a nervousness that had nothing to do with the sharp, deadly claws, nothing to do with the beak that looked l

Neji was nervous, a nervousness that had nothing to do with the sharp, deadly claws, nothing to do with the beak that looked like it could easy rip off his arm, nothing to do with any physical danger.

It was stupid, incredibly irritating that he was so nervous because of something so trivial, so seemingly unimportant like the hippogriff. It was just an animal, powerful, probably deadly to most of the kids standing behind him, but still, just an animal.

But it didn't feel like it. There was wisdom in those golden eyes, a wisdom that was nothing like the one humans acquired. It was simpler, like the hippogriff knew only the answer to one question, knew only one thing besides the instincts that drove him, made him no different from all the other animals. But maybe, that question was all that mattered, maybe there was no need to know so many things when one simple, small bit of knowledge was enough.

Stop it! He ordered his stupid and extremely irritating mind. Shut up and concentrate! Again, he focused on the golden eyes, not blinking even though his eyes were painfully dry. And then, the hippogriff moved.

Neji felt his body tense and had to suppress the urge to attack or move away, staying completely still, not moving before his brain registered what the magical creature did. It bowed.

There where enthusiastic shouts (a certain blonde-haired idiot), some people clapped (Sakura, TenTen, most of the boys) some "Ahh"'s and "Ohh"'s (most of the girls) and some sarcastic comments (some of those annoying and stupid Slytherin boys. Read: Draco Malfoy… Neji had taken an extreme dislike towards the pale boy and he swiftly wondered how sarcastic that spoiled brat would be with a broken neck).

"Good job!" Hagrid cried, and Neji noticed the relief in the man's voice that there had been no injuries yet. Sadly. Sometimes, being known for a very good self-control was annoying. Extremely annoying. It didn't give you even the tiniest excuse to attack a classmate and Neji doubted that his, of course purely scientific curiosity, how long someone with their spine pulled out of their back would live counted as an excuse.

But then again, killing his classmates would blow their cover and he'd be in trouble. Really big trouble. Sighting almost inaudible he dismissed the idea. It wasn't worth it. He had to kill that idiot without anyone noticing. Poison. Yes, poison sounded good. There was bound to be a book about poisonous plants that grew in this area in the library. He would poison that little brat and then watch him die. It had to be painful, he decided spontaneously. Very painful and…

Hagrid's voice brought him back into reality "…go on, you can pet him." Damn it! He had spaced out AGAIN! What was wrong with him? Shinobis didn't space out. And he was a Hyuuga. And HYUUGAS DEFENITLEY DID NOT SPACE OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A MISSION!

"Neji?" TenTen's voice sounded concerned. Oh. He had spaced out yet again. DAMN IT! "Is something wrong?" her voice sounded tense and anxious; it was clear that she thought he had noticed something. Something dangerous. That was the good thing about being a Hyuuga. Or known for always being concentrated and never spacing out. Whenever you DO space out, everyone thinks you're just concentrating. On something potentially dangerous. Which brought the subject back to TenTen. Or the fact hat he had spaced out again.

Before his teammate could force him to pay attention with a kunai he quickly shook his head

"No, nothing." he said, then turned towards Hagrid who looked at him with worried eyes. "

Everything okay, kid?" Neji nodded "Yes. I'm sorry, I thought I saw something" He vaguely pointed towards the woods with an apologetic gesture.

Shikamaru wanted to die. Now. Or at least hit his head against something hard. Like a wall. Like a very hard wall. Or he could just slam Naruto into said wall. Hopefully hard enough to make him shut up for longer than five minute.

His irritation grew everyday he spent with the annoying blonde. In the beginning it had been troublesome. Like most of the things that happened. Or existed, for that matter. Then, it had started to be irritating. Now it was annoying. Really annoying. So annoying that anger replaced the boredom and indifference that were usually his feelings during everyday activities.

Damn, he wished his team was here. Sure, Ino was troublesome but not nearly as annoying as Naruto and some percent of his classmates and Choji was, well, Choji.

Shikamaru groaned quietly as he heard another one of Naruto's loud shouts followed by an angry but very quietly hissed "Shut up, idiot" by Neji, trying to stop an already very pissed Sakura from attacking Naruto, thus giving away their identity.

Shikamaru was distracted by a sound coming from the woods. It wasn't quiet enough for an enemy, but that could also be a trap, trying to make them believe that there was no danger. What had Neji seen? He wondered, about the millionth time since the Hyuuga boy had turned his gaze away from the woods he had been staring at and had started petting the hippogriff.

Neji's expression hadn't been his usual tense mask of concentration and Shikamaru had almost thought that the Hyuuga had spaced out. Almost. Because Neji just didn't space out. The only time the Hyuuga had been spaced out had probably been when he was in the hospital, pumped with morphene and other painkillers. Another shout ("Hey, look at this! If I-"), followed by an angry hiss ("Shut up you idiot! And the teacher said Not. To. Annoy. Them.") and a loud thump (a fist colliding with an empty head) and an annoyed groan by Shikamaru later, Neji appeared behind Naruto and Sakura, followed by TenTen

"Could both of you just try to concentrate a bit more? A little less noise and a bit more concentration would be really helpful." The Hyuuga said sharply. At that point, Naruto decided it would be a good idea to annoy an already very angered Neji. Thus, he mentioned that fact that said shinobi had also failed to pay attention a few minutes ago in his usual polite and sensitive way:

"Yeah, as if _you_ always concentrate. You spaced out for about half an hour while the teacher explained something about those hippogriffs." Neji glared at him, while Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

Neji had spaced out? Either Naruto had hidden talents when it came to observing people or he had just decided to piss Neji of. The latter seemed more reasonable. Still, Shikamaru felt an argument coming. A long and troublesome one. Desperately, he looked around for a wall. A really hard one.

Neji's death glare was scary. Scarier than Sakura's, actually. Maybe it was because of the pale, white eyes that seemed to bore into one's soul, even though there were no pupils. Or maybe it was just because while Sakuras death glare was accompanied by an angry expression or an annoyed "Shut up, you moron!" Neji was completely silent and his expression seemed like a cold mask. The mask of death that had come to get you. Like a demon tiger waiting for your next move, so he could jump forward and rip out your throat. Yeah, you get the picture.

Suddenly, here was scream and they whirled around, watching, as in slow motion as the hippogriff raised his deadly claws, and then came down and they all saw the pale face of the blonde boy, real fear in his eyes. Neji reacted instinctively, racing forward, crossing the few meters between him and the boy in less than a second while his thoughts were racing.

He couldn't use his chakra or weapons; they'd give him away. Left only one option. He pushed the boy out of the way as the claws came down, colliding with Neji's arm. Pain shot through his nerves, making him stagger for one second then he had himself under control and tried to calm the angry hippogriff down.

A second later, Hagrid was next to him and after he had managed to calm the hippogriff down he looked at Neji with a worried face, but Neji answered the unspoken question on the mans face before he said something

"I'm fine. It doesn't really hurt. It's just bleeding a lot"

The following hours were annoying. Extremely annoying. Neji closed his eyes, trying to blend out all the annoying babbling in the common room. He was so tired. Just closing his eyes for a second wouldn't hurt. Just for a second. It'd feel good, just closing his eyes for a second.

His arm didn't hurt anymore; Sakura had given him some painkillers, the small red ones that tasted slightly bitter, and had fixed his arm with bandages. He wouldn't let her use chakra even though she had insisted on it during the first minutes of their hushed argument, telling him he was behaving ridiculously and that the wound could get infected or worse. Healer to the core.

It had taken him a while to convince her that it would be too suspicious if it healed so fast, especially with the questions the three wizards were bothering them with already. In the end, she had cleaned the deep gash on his arm and had put an ointment on it that had caused a burning sensation, almost worse than the pain he had felt when the hippogriff had attacked.

She was probably still upset that he had refused to let her heal his arm completely because she had insisted that he'd wait for an hour until taking the painkillers, a painfully slow hour where his arm seemed to be on fire.

Though she'd told him that the painkillers would make the blood flow faster after a few minutes to transport the numbing chemicals into every cell of his body; therefore they had to wait until the ointment had closed the wound to a point where the quick blood flow wouldn't cause any more damage.

Ah, he was so tired. He'd been on guard duty last night, sitting on the windowsill, watching the grounds, the rooms behind him, listening for any suspicious sound. He hadn't been able to see much, at least not in the castle.

There was too much of the golden chakra, but he could see enough to be between their charge and any enemy that decided to sneak into the castle.

Of course, it had tired him. As TenTen had appeared behind him at around 4 in the morning, he had been low on chakra, his limbs heavy as lead and a headache that felt like his skull would split apart any second. They had sat there, next to each other, taking comfort in the others presence in this strange place, in the familiar silence.

But TenTen wasn't stupid. Oh, no. Nor was she blind. And that had been one of those rare moments Neji wished he had a less observant teammate. Because TenTen had very easily noticed is fatigue. And had forced him to go back inside and get some sleep. "I'm not blind, Neji and neither am I deaf. I'll notice anyone who'll try to sneak in." He tried to argue with her, but then again, arguing with TenTen was never a good idea.

Finally, after she had threatened to tell Sakura about it, he had given in and returned to his bed. He had barley managed to change, and as soon as he had closed his eyes he had fallen asleep…

Only to be awoken far too soon. No, sleeping really wouldn't be a bad idea…

* * *

Like it? Hate it? My writing style probably changed, so tell me if you liked the old way better...

P.S. I'm soo sorry for not writing for so long ;; And thanks to my wonderful Kitteh for betaing this story


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